Dariush Homayoon

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Dariush Homayoun

| image = Dariush Homayoon Portrait.jpg

| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|9|27|df=y}}

| birth_place = Tehran, Iran

| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|1|28|1928|9|27|df=y}}

| death_place = Geneva, Switzerland

| order = Minister of Information and Tourism

| term_start = 7 August 1977

| term_end = 16 September 1978

| primeminister = Jamshid Amouzegar

| predecessor =

| successor = Mohammad Reza Tehrani

| party = {{plainlist|

Constitutionalist Party {{small|(1994–2011)}}
Resurgence Party {{small|(1975–1978)}}
New Iran Party {{small|(1963–1975)}}
National Front {{small|(1960–1961)}}
SUMKA {{small|(1952–1953)}}
Nation Party {{small|(1951–1952)}}
Pan-Iranist Party {{small|(1949–1951)}}

}}

| alma_mater =

| religion =

| spouse = Homa Zahedi

| website =

}}

Daryoush Homayoun ({{langx|fa|داریوش همایون}}; 1928{{spaced ndash}}2011) was an Iranian journalist, author, intellectual, and politician. He was the Minister of Information and Tourism in the cabinet of Jamshid Amouzegar, founder of the daily newspaper Ayandegan, and one-time high-ranking member of the Rastakhiz party. In exile, he became one of the founders of the Constitutionalist Party of Iran. He was famous for his analytical writings and largely impartial assessment of history. His outspoken manner, criticizing the Islamic Republic with harsh tones, but also directing his criticism at the Pahlavi policies, earned him the respect of many, while at the same time creating many enemies. He was one of the most influential Iranian opposition leaders in exile.

Youth

Homayoun was born in Tehran on 27 September 1928 and began his involvement in the political sphere at the age of fourteen. In his younger years he was a member of several Iranian parties, generally with nationalist views opposing the rise of leftist ideas and the influence of the Tudeh party, such as SUMKA. He began as a supporter of Mohammad Mossadegh but was imprisoned during Mossadegh's premiership.

Journalistic and political career

In the years following 1953, Homayoun finished his university studies, obtaining a doctorate in political science from the University of Tehran. After completing his Nieman Fellowship at Harvard, he took on the role of a field consultant in Asia for the New York office of the Franklin Book Programs. During this time, he conducted surveys to assess the distribution challenges in Malaysia and Indonesia.Ganjavi, Mahdi. Education and the Cultural Cold War in the Middle East. I.B.Tauris, 2023

He worked at the Iranian daily Ettelaat and later founded the highly successful daily newspaper Ayandegan. In the cabinet of Jamshid Amouzegar, he became the minister of information and tourism. Following the events leading up to the Iranian Revolution, he was arrested in November 1978, together with many other former officials, due to the allegations of corruption and power misuse.{{cite news

|location=Tehran}} He escaped prison on 12 February 1979, just after the revolution, and went into hiding. Fifteen months later, he left Iran through the border with Turkey and went to Paris.

Exile

In exile, Homayoun, was an influential political analyst, writer, and opposition leader. In the nineties he initiated and helped create the Constitutionalist Party of Iran, a political party seeking to establish a liberal democratic Iran.

Personal life and death

Daryoush Homayoun was married to Homa Zahedi, sister of Ardeshir Zahedi.{{cite news|title=Tehran Is Calm|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=8 November 1978|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/11/08/tehran-is-calm/e7378f5e-6604-43c6-8396-8d03b4ecb421/| access-date=4 September 2023}} He died on 28 January 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland at the age of 82.

References

External links

[http://www.d-homayoun.net/English.html Official Website]
[http://www.d-homayoun.net/English/htfile/Life.htm Life, after dying before death, by D. Homayoun].
[http://www.d-homayoun.net/English/The%20Party.htm A party for the present and future of Iran].

{{succession box | before = Mohammad Reza Ameli Tehrani| title = Minister of Information and Tourism|years=1977–1978| after = Gholam Reza Kiyanpour}}

{{s-ttl|title= Leader of Constitutionalist Party|years=1994–2004}}

{{s-ttl|title=Deputy Secretary-General of the Resurgence Party|years=1977–1978}}

Category:Government ministers of Iran

Category:Iranian monarchists

Category:1928 births

Category:Constitutionalist Party of Iran politicians

Category:Rastakhiz Party politicians

Category:University of Tehran alumni

Category:2011 deaths

Category:Iranian emigrants to Switzerland

Category:Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in Switzerland